Massive Thrift Haul! Goodwill & Salvation Army

Hello there and welcome back, Miles Tribe! I am so, SO excited to share this post with y’all because it is something near and dear to my heart. I’m not really sure why it’s taken me this long to post something like this here on the blog but I think it has something to do with the fact that now that we’ve moved we have so much more space and so I’ve been able to really go out and start finding interesting little pieces to fit in with our lifestyle. I’m talking about thrifting, y’all. Mhm. Good old fashioned recycling, reusing, and reducing our carbon footprint by utilizing what’s already here. For those of you who maybe aren’t as familiar or comfortable with the idea of buying things secondhand, I hope this blog post really helps to show some of the amazing benefits to be found in thrifting. I know it can be a little intimidating at first but I promise, it is so worth it!

For those of you who don’t know, I grew up in a really thrifty household. We thrifted before Macklemore’s single declared to the whole world how cool it was because that’s what we had access to. And despite the negative connotations that may have been unfairly heaped on thrifting over the years, it’s incredibly smart and savvy. Why pay inflated prices for something brand new when I can find it slightly used for a mere fraction of the cost? It really is a no-brainer. Now, there are some things that we do prefer to buy new for hygiene reasons etc. But in addition to saving tons of money checking the bargain bins and the secondhand shops, we pretty much always walk away with at least one thing that is totally unique and (let’s be honest) really, really cool.

I could go on and on all day about my love of thrifting but I’ll save that for another post. Fair warning: this is a long haul. I’ve been saving some things in order to do one collective haul from several different thrift stores in different areas so I’ve accumulated quite a bit to share with y’all. But stick around because unlike some of my other hauls, this one is a bit of a hodgepodge because you never know what you’re going to find when you’re out thrifting. That’s half the fun! For now, let’s get into this thrift haul…

Something I always look for when I’m out thrifting are picture frames. People tend to get rid of these when they’re redecorating or moving even though there’s nothing inherently wrong with the item. People literally get rid of things that have minimal signs of wear because all they’ve done is sit on a desk or hang on a wall. I mean, this is the ultimate recycled item. And they can be so expensive in stores! I found this beautiful, natural wood frame with these dark, hinge accents that matches our décor perfectly and even though the sticker says it was only $2.99, it was actually half off of that. So I only paid $1.50 for this.

Another thing we always pick up are books. We are a bookish household and so there’s really no such thing as too many books. When we’re out thrifting we always check the stacks for good reads. I especially like to keep an eye out for older books or books with really beautiful cover art because they’re not only great reading material but they look stunning in a very subtle way as different décor pieces throughout our home. Whether they’re tucked into corner nooks, stacked on end tables or piled high on our shelves, they’re an instant way to brighten any space and add a certain depth. I snagged these (and one more not pictured here because it’s already been styled in our home and I forgot to grab it for this picture–you’re shocked, I know) for only $1 a piece.

And what are great books without great bookends, right? I actually saw a meme somewhere that made a joke about how bookends are for people who don’t have enough books on their shelves. While this certainly doesn’t seem to be a dilemma I’ve faced in my lifetime, I couldn’t pass up this beautiful bookend when I found it. To me it’s just so fun and interesting in a vintage way with the globe-like, weathervane type piece (?) that I couldn’t leave it behind. I even debated removing it from the wooden book end to use just the metal piece as bookshelf décor. So far I’ve left it alone and it’s found a nice place in our bedroom. And for half off of $3.99, I definitely got a great deal.

Which brings me to our next bookish thing. Sorry, not sorry. I love having cookbooks in our kitchen but I hate having cumbersome book holders that either don’t hold the pages open or taken up too much space on my countertop. Imagine my giddy relief when I found this folding book holder in this beautiful rusty color. It’s completely our aesthetic with the beautiful wood carvings and upon further inspection I found a sticker that declared it was made in India and originally sold by World Market. Pretty incredible find. And I only paid $4.99 for it.

Naturally, I needed a place to store my cookbooks when I wasn’t using them in my handy-dandy new foldout cookbook holder. I found this beautiful, distressed white, floating shelf which is the PERFECT size for this outcropped wall in our kitchen. Seriously, the thrifting gods were looking down on me this day and smiling. SUCH a great win. I paid $3.99.

One of the things I’ve recently been turned onto is stoneware. I’ve loved the look of it for years and I’ve picked up pieces haphazardly here and there but until a few months ago I really hadn’t done much research into what it was I was looking for. Now I can’t seem to get enough of it but I’m also trying to be picky about what I pick up because I’m really only interested in pieces I genuinely like and want to invest in like this adorable milk creamer made by Churchill. It’s the beautiful, creamy oatmeal color and it will be adorable for gatherings or styled with some small flowers or sprigs of eucalyptus. I snagged this cute little thing for $1.00.

I also found this beautiful blue printed piece of stoneware from Boch. As you can see the writing on the bottom is a bit timeworn but my husband spent some time deciphering it when I first brought it home. I can’t recall what he found at this moment, but regardless, I think it’s a beautiful little piece and it’s these kind of things I’m really starting to get into and collect. It had a green tag so it was not 50% off but it was still a great find for my growing collection at $4.99.

I also found this vintage, iron trivet. I’m pretty certain it was for an actual clothes iron, however we don’t actually own a clothes iron (some of you are no doubt horrified–my sincerest apologies). If we ever decide to purchase one, we’ll be ready. Until then, I’m debating mounting this on a wall or using it as a general trivet for meal-type things like our tea kettle. It was also half off so it cost me $1.

I’ve been on the lookout for some vintage glass pieces to use in our new bathroom to house some of our salts and oils. I found this etched oil pitcher– is pitcher the right word? I’m fairly certain it’s not, but if you know the right word, let me know in the comments below. Anyway, I found whatever this is and I will be using it to house some bath salts on our countertop. Beautiful and functional. And 50% off, so I only paid $0.50!

Next up are these really neat silver plated pieces. This is a fairly new thing for us but we’ve been picking up silver and silver plated pieces when we see them out and about. We’re just at a point in our lives where we want to really start curating our homewares, specifically in regard to plating and kitchenware. We’ve always loved the look of more vintage items that tell a story and so we had to pick up this lion’s head candy dish and this ornately etched (though you can’t see it right now due to the tarnish–not to worry, we’ll clean it right up) platter. These were both green tags, so not part of the 50% off sale. The dish was more than I would normally pay for an item like this but it was the one thing my husband picked out and he really enjoyed it so we splurged and got it for $6.99. The platter was $3.99.

Next we found these really cool scissors. We learned that they’re designed for finely cutting herbs and things. Some of you may know that we’ve been playing around with gardening this last year in an effort to develop some sort of green thumb and we’ve had our fair share of mishaps and victories. I’d love to start drying and storing our own herbs so I’m hoping these come in handy. They were $1.00.

One of the things I was keeping an eye out for specifically after our move was a good curtain rod for our bedroom. We had to get rid of the one from our old place during our move because it was simply too large for our new window area which is broken up a little differently. I was a little heartbroken because I loved the last one (it was also a thrifted find) but we sent it back out into the thrifty world to find new life somewhere else. In return, we were sent this little gem which is the perfect size for our new window and the perfect color for our décor. Win-win. And it was only $3.99.

These next two items might be a little controversial for y’all. Again, I’ve been thrifting all my life and I’ve traversed the various levels of comfort when it comes to buying things secondhand. Everyone is different and everyone their own lines they have to draw and redraw in the thrifting world. Disclaimer aside, I absolutely love these and I could not be more thrilled at having found them. The first is a pair of holiday pillow cases with these adorable hedgehogs wearing Santa hats. I mean, COME ON! They were in perfect condition with no stains or holes and very minimal fading. A good, hot wash and they’re good to go. The second is this beautiful knit blanket that’s a really pale pink color. It’s pulling more white or off-white in the photo. I think it’s made to fit a full size or queen size bed but I bought it with the intention of using it as a couch throw for my husband who is simply too long for the teeny standard throws. It works perfectly and is so cozy, soft. It’s absolutely become one of my favorite blankets of all time. The pillowcases were $1.50 and the blanket actually wasn’t a super great deal price-wise at $12.99 but I fell in love with it instantly so in the long run, it was definitely worth the price tag.

So I may or may not have a small obsession with pumpkins. I’m okay with this. However, I refuse to pay loads of money for the decorative pumpkins you see in home décor stores. So when I found this whimsical, ceramic pumpkin with this metallic stem I snatched it up. It’s in this gorgeous, milky white color that fits our aesthetic and melts into the background in such a way that you really don’t even think twice about there being a pumpkin out year ’round. It’s just a beautifully subtle piece. This was not part of the sale so it was sticker price at $7.99.

Okay. You may think this one’s crazy, but hear me out. I found these three twiggy spheres covered in hot glue, ribbons, and fake flowers. Had I now been taking my time that morning I would have walked right by them without a second thought. However, the more I thought bout them, the more I could see their potential. You can see in the picture below that I’ve removed the ribbons and flowers from two of the three and they’re already much improved. I have plans to fill each of them with a string of copper fairy lights and use them as décor (either in a bowl on the table or spread along the mantle– I’m not sure yet). And the nice woman at the cash gave me all three for only a dollar so I couldn’t really go wrong.

And last but not least, I grabbed this adorably classic little shoulder bag. It’s a bit more mint-colored IRL but it’s pulling more blue tones on camera. I own far too many purses and bags and while I have slowed down significantly in my pursuit of them, I simply couldn’t pass this one up. It was in basically pristine condition with no signs of cracking, staining, or heavy wear. It’s the perfect size (not too big, not too small) and color for summer. I can’t wait to style it and I only paid $7.99.

Holy cow! Congratulations if you stuck it out til the end! Seriously, this haul was a beast. I probably could have broken it up into multiple hauls but I was just too excited to share all of the things I found. I did end up leaving some things out but if you guys liked this one be sure to let me know by clicking that “like” button and subscribe so you don’t miss out. Leave a comment below or send me a message with your favorite thing to thrift or find secondhand! There will definitely be more thrift hauls coming soon here at Miles To Go but until then, make sure you’re following along on Instagram @milestogoxo. Wishing you all good things, always.